Panic in Level 4: Cannibals, Killer Viruses, and Other Journeys to the Edge of Science

Bizarre illnesses and plagues that kill people in the most unspeakable ways. Obsessive and inspired efforts by scientists to solve mysteries and save lives. From The Hot Zone to The Demon in the Freezer and beyond, Richard Preston's best selling works have mesmerized readers everywhere by showing them strange worlds of nature they never dreamed of.

The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story

A highly infectious, deadly virus from the central African rain forest suddenly appears in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. There is no cure. In a few days, 90 percent of its victims are dead. A secret military SWAT team of soldiers and scientists is mobilized to stop the outbreak of this exotic "hot" virus. The Hot Zone tells this dramatic story, giving a hair-raising account of the appearance of rare and lethal viruses and their "crashes" into the human race. Shocking, frightening, and impossible to ignore, The Hot Zone proves that truth really is scarier than fiction.

Spillover

The emergence of strange new diseases is a frightening problem that seems to be getting worse. In this age of speedy travel, it threatens a worldwide pandemic. We hear news reports of Ebola, SARS, AIDS, and something called Hendra killing horses and people in Australia - but those reports miss the big truth that such phenomena are part of a single pattern. The bugs that transmit these diseases share one thing: they originate in wild animals and pass to humans by a process called spillover. David Quammen tracks this subject around the world.

Rabid: A Cultural History of the World’s Most Diabolical Virus

The most fatal virus known to science, rabies kills nearly 100 percent of its victims once the infection takes root in the brain. From Greek myths to zombie flicks, from the laboratory heroics of Louis Pasteur to the contemporary search for a lifesaving treatment, Rabid is a fresh, fascinating, and often wildly entertaining look at one of mankind’s oldest and most fearsome foes.

Pandemic: Tracking Contagions, from Cholera to Ebola and Beyond

Interweaving history, original reportage, and personal narrative, Pandemic explores the origin of epidemics, drawing parallels between the story of cholera - one of history's most disruptive and deadly pathogens - and the new pathogens that stalk humankind today, from Ebola and avian influenza to drug-resistant superbugs.

The Next Pandemic: On the Front Lines Against Humankind's Gravest Dangers

An inside account of the fight to contain the world's deadliest diseases - and the panic and corruption that make them worse.The Next Pandemic is a firsthand account of disasters like anthrax, bird flu, and others - and how we could do more to prevent their return. It is both a gripping story of our brushes with fate and an urgent lesson on how we can keep ourselves safe from the inevitable next pandemic.

Lab 257: The Disturbing Story of the Government's Secret Germ Laboratory

Strictly off limits to the public, Plum Island is home to virginal beaches, cliffs, forests, ponds - and the deadliest germs that have ever roamed the planet. Lab 257 blows the lid off the stunning true nature and checkered history of Plum Island. It shows that the seemingly bucolic island in the shadow of New York City is a ticking biological time bomb that none of us can safely ignore.

The Viral Storm: The Dawn of a New Pandemic Age

In The Viral Storm, award-winning biologist Nathan Wolfe tells the story of how viruses and human beings have evolved side by side through history; how deadly viruses like HIV, swine flu, and bird flu almost wiped us out in the past; and why modern life has made our species vulnerable to the threat of a global pandemic. Wolfe's research missions to the jungles have earned him the nickname "the Indiana Jones of virus hunters," and here Wolfe takes listeners along on his groundbreaking and often dangerous research trips - to reveal the surprising origins of the most deadly diseases....

The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History

No disease the world has ever known even remotely resembles the great influenza epidemic of 1918. Presumed to have begun when sick farm animals infected soldiers in Kansas, spreading and mutating into a lethal strain as troops carried it to Europe, it exploded across the world with unequaled ferocity and speed. It killed more people in 20 weeks than AIDS has killed in 20 years; it killed more people in a year than the plagues of the Middle Ages killed in a century.

Asleep: The Forgotten Epidemic That Became Medicine’s Greatest Mystery

In 1918, a world war raged, and a lethal strain of influenza circled the globe. In the midst of all this death, a bizarre disease appeared in Europe. Eventually known as encephalitis lethargica, or sleeping sickness, it spread worldwide, leaving millions dead or locked in institutions. Then, in 1927, it disappeared as suddenly as it had arrived. Asleep, set in 1920s and '30s New York, follows a group of neurologists through hospitals and asylums as they try to solve this epidemic and treat its victims - who learned the worst fate was not dying of it, but surviving it.

The Great Quake: How the Biggest Earthquake in North America Changed Our Understanding of the Planet

In the best-selling tradition of Erik Larson's Isaac's Storm, The Great Quake is a riveting narrative about the biggest earthquake in North American recorded history - the 1964 Alaska earthquake that demolished the city of Valdez and swept away the island village of Chenega - and the geologist who hunted for clues to explain how and why it took place.

Micro: A Novel

In a locked Honolulu office building, three men are found dead with no sign of struggle except for the ultrafine, razor-sharp cuts covering their bodies. The only clue left behind is a tiny bladed robot, nearly invisible to the human eye. In the lush forests of Oahu, groundbreaking technology has ushered in a revolutionary era of biological prospecting. Trillions of microorganisms, tens of thousands of bacteria species, are being discovered; they are feeding a search for priceless drugs and applications on a scale beyond anything previously imagined.

Get Well Soon: History’s Worst Plagues and the Heroes Who Fought Them

In 1518, in a small town in Alsace, Frau Troffea began dancing and didn't stop. She danced until she was carried away six days later, and soon 34 more villagers joined her. Then more. In a month more than 400 people had been stricken by the mysterious dancing plague. In late-19th-century England an eccentric gentleman founded the No Nose Club in his gracious townhome - a social club for those who had lost their noses, and other body parts, to the plague of syphilis for which there was then no cure.

Ebola: The Natural and Human History of a Deadly

In 1976 a deadly virus emerged from the Congo forest. As swiftly as it came, it disappeared, leaving no trace. Over the four decades since, Ebola has emerged sporadically, each time to devastating effect. It can kill up to 90 percent of its victims. In between these outbreaks, it is untraceable, hiding deep in the jungle. The search is on to find Ebola's elusive host animal.

The Andromeda Strain

The United States government is given a warning by the preeminent biophysicists in the country: current sterilization procedures applied to returning space probes may be inadequate to guarantee uncontaminated re-entry to the atmosphere.

Atomic Adventures: Secret Islands, Forgotten N-Rays, and Isotopic Murder - A Journey into the Wild World of Nuclear Science

Whether you are a scientist or a poet, pro-nuclear energy or staunch opponent, conspiracy theorist or pragmatist, James Mahaffey's books have served to open up the world of nuclear science like never before. With clear explanations of some of the most complex scientific endeavors in history, Mahaffey's new book looks back at the atom's wild, secretive past and then toward its potentially bright future.

Chernobyl 01:23:40: The Incredible True Story of the World's Worst Nuclear Disaster

At 01:23:40 on April 26th 1986, Alexander Akimov pressed the emergency shutdown button at Chernobyl's fourth nuclear reactor. It was an act that forced the permanent evacuation of a city, killed thousands, and crippled the Soviet Union. The event spawned decades of conflicting, exaggerated, and inaccurate stories.

Publisher's Summary

The first major bioterror event in the United States - the anthrax attacks in October 2001 - was a clarion call for scientists who work with "hot" agents to find ways of protecting civilian populations against biological weapons. In The Demon in the Freezer, Richard Preston takes us into the heart of USAMRIID, the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick, Maryland.

Peter Jahrling, the top scientist at USAMRIID, has ORCON security clearance that gives him access to top-secret information of bioweapons. His most urgent priority is to develop a drug that will take on smallpox - and win. Eradicated from the planet in 1979, the smallpox virus now resides, officially, in only two high-security freezers - at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, and in Siberia, at a Russian virology institute called Vector. But the demon in the freezer has been set loose. It is almost certain that illegal stocks are in the possession of hostile states, including Iraq and North Korea. Jahrling is haunted by the thought that biologists in secret labs are using genetic engineering to create a new superpox virus, a smallpox resistant to all vaccines.

USAMRIID went into a state of Delta Alert on September 11 and activated its emergency response teams when the first anthrax letters were opened in New York and Washington, D.C. Preston reports, in unprecedented detail, on the government's response to the attacks and takes us into the ongoing FBI investigation. His story is based on interviews with top-level FBI agents and with Dr. Steven Hatfill.

What the Critics Say

"This book will give you nightmares. Preston...turns a story about science and medicine into a theme-park ride of a thriller." (The New York Times) "As exciting as the best thrillers, yet scarier by far, for Preston's pages deal with clear, present and very real dangers." (Publishers Weekly)

If skin sliding off your body in sheets and merging pustules don't bother you, dive in. This is not for the faint of heart or stomach. It does give a clear picture of the effects of anthrax and smallpox, and the results if they were released as a bioweapon.
If nothing else, do what you're mother told you, wash your hands!
Also have a listen to In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the World It Made (Unabridged). One of the interesting points made was that anthrax was present at the time and oftened mistaken for plague. Not that it made a lot of difference to the victim.

Probably not a book to listen to in bed before going to sleep, unless you are truly fearless.

But overall, a well-told true story that is as much about the people behind the effort to irradicate smallpox (and prevent future terrorism) as it is about the disease itself. Very well-researched. It seems that Preston interviewed just about all the key people behind the story over the last few decades.

The most interesting parts of the book for me were the incredible personal stories of how certain seemingly unlikely individuals became involved in different ways.

A couple reasons for a less than perfect rating -- I thought sometimes Preston went overboard on his attention to detail. Like discussing what someone happened to be eating or wearing at non-pivotal moments in the story.

Because the events in fall 2001 occurred while writing the book, Preston seemed compelled to tack on the story line dealing with anthrax. At times it made the book a little disjointed but overall I thought the discussion of anthrax added more than it detracted.

Where does The Demon in the Freezer rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This type of book will only appeal to a specific audience, but overall i'd say its in my top 10 books.

What aspect of Paul Boehmer’s performance would you have changed?

The performance was well done, the audio book editing was horrible. Clearly no one listened to the final product because there are no less than 8 audio edits were the track repeats itself by 4-5 seconds. This throws off the flow of the story and simply irritates the listener. Audible or whomever did the editing should refund every listeners money and appoligise for such poor quality work.

I got this thinking it was another thriller but, be clear, you're not buying a thriller, this is NON-fiction about horrible biological weapons (mostly anthrax and smallpox). It revisits the national scare in 2001 and goes on to reveal staggeringly terrible truths about some countries which did "weaponize" bacteria and viruses (including the USA). Truth makes it all the more compelling. This scientist turned writer's style allows comprehension of some heavy duty science. There are a few editing errors, just a FEW passages are re-read (NO reason to avoid this book, it is not poorly produced) Most rewind and relisten to their devices anyway to avoid missing key facts.. so no big deal! Well narrated even with a few regional accents (in non fiction) to flesh out the characters. I'd put this on my "must listen" list if one wishes to be well informed about a threat worse than one nuclear bomb could ever be. Even with the mild let down of no "plot" the book is still riveting.

This book kept me on edge almost the whole way through. It is a must read based on the times we are in. I had no idea about the severity of biological warfare and the implications of someone having it. I feel like my eyes have been opened. I would suggest it to everyone.

This is an interesting account of the bio terror attack on the US. There are a lot of names (who cares) and the flow is painfully slow in parts as a result. Information about other countries bio programs was interesting. My Mom is a nurse, so I find biology interesting. If you don't have an interest in what Smallpox can do to a human body, I would suggest skipping this one. The point was: there are bad people out there and Smallpox is a nightmare...

Really, terrifying is the only word for it. Super-bugs resurrected from the past, weaponized, and potentially in the hands of anybody? Other than that chill-factor, it's a spectacular read, interesting and informative, with enough of a mystery to keep one interested. As a medical professional, the description of the diseases were fascinating, though perhaps a bit grotesque. Definitely one that I'll be re-reading!

Research Technologist with deep interests in Host Cell - Pathogen Interactions & Cancer Research. I enjoy and mostly listen to Non-Fiction audiobooks on Medicine/Science, War and History. I also like to Game when I'm not in the lab.

Recommend this to all Medical Research Scientists like myself. It really opens your mind to a lot of things you never thought about. I really enjoyed every bit of it, not forgetting a great narrator too (Paul Boehmer).